PM pitches for urgent, considered action to root out Naxalism

PM

New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI) Against the backdrop of a string
of Maoist attacks, India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Wednesday pitched for urgent and considered action to root out
the problem of Left-wing extremism and asserted that no
quarter can be given to those challenging the authority of the
Indian state.
Singling out Left-wing extremism as the gravest internal
security threat faced by the nation, he said, "Recent events
have underscored the need for urgent and considered action to
root out this problem".
"No quarter can be given to those who have taken upon
themselves to challenge the authority of the Indian state and
the fabric of our democratic polity," he said, inaugurating
the Civil Services Day function here.
The Prime Minister's remarks come in the wake of the
worst-ever Maoist attack at Chitangufa in Chhattisgarh on
April 6 in which 75 CRPF men and a policeman were killed.
The Naxalites had also opened fire on five separate CRPF
camps in quick succession in Dantewada district of
Chhattisgarh state in central India on Tuesday night.
Underscoring the fact that Left-wing extremism was
flourishing in under-developed areas of the country, Singh
asked the civil servants to ensure that no area of the country
is denied the benefits of the government's developmental
programmes.
"But we cannot overlook the fact that many areas in which
such extremism flourishes are under-developed and many of the
people, mainly poor tribals, who live in these areas have not
shared equitably in the fruits of development.
"It is incumbent upon us to ensure that no area of our
country is denied the benefits of our ambitious developmental
programmes," the Prime Minister said.
He asked them to devise innovative ways and means to
harness the tools of information technology and to involve the
intended beneficiaries in implementation so that complaints of
leakages, corruption and lack of transparency get addressed.
Singh said that inclusive growth was the centerpiece of
the developmental agenda of the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) and fast economic growth provided the government with
the resources to address the problems of poverty, ignorance
and disease.
"Rapid growth will have little meaning, however, unless
social and economic inequalities, which still afflict our
society, are not eliminated quickly and effectively," he said.
The Prime Minister said that despite the global economic
slow down, India was able to post a respectable growth of 6.7
per cent in 2008-09.
"The growth rate for 2009-10 is now estimated at 7.2 per
cent and the forecast for 2010-11 is 8.25 per cent," he said,
adding the medium term target set by the government was to
return the economy to an annual growth rate of 9 per cent.
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